The line “while most of the texts are written in Spanish, all visual poems will be undoubtedly enjoyed by readers of any language” concludes the Editor, Doctorovich’s, opening foreword to El Punto Ciego. It was a welcome reassurance for me, a non-Spanish speaker, as I began to peruse the pages of this anthology of visual poetry from Argentina, and it sets up this book from SDSU Press as a fantastically unique visual art reference tool as much as a reflective scholarly work.
It’s an anthology that almost didn’t come together, as the Editor details the story of commerce, illness, and even a robbery, that all got in the way of ultimately getting it published. Because of these efforts, readers (and viewers) are given a wide-ranging overview of Argentinian graphic arts, which may have forever remained a blind spot for those outside this very niche scene. The editors “...took into account the influence of technology on genre, starting from the discovery of rock paintings (petroglyphs from the Cave of Hands) to recent experiments with computers and networks” thus carving a large contextual lineage of visual aesthetics from denizens of this part of the world. “The game between literature and technology has always been there, just that for centuries the ‘Gutenberg Galaxy’ has dominated, and the technological matrix became invisible to the eyes of readers” - invisible indeed, and that which the publication of this book hopes to bring into focus for anyone interested in art history, Argentinian and Latin American arts, experimental poetry, design, and beyond.
Many of the pieces featured have a timeless quality to them - fitting right alongside any modern art or design canon. Yet for someone like me, whose eyes have limited exposure (perhaps extra blind spots) to this region’s aesthetics, each also carries something new, fresh, and inspiring. As much as one can learn from the essays and written text of the book, one can also learn and possibly even incorporate material as reference for their own visual artistic work – helping us all to continue to see our own blind spots more clearly.
I’ll leave you with just a few of my favorite pieces across a variety of styles. Order today for your, or the visual arts, photographer, graphic designer, experimental poetry lover or practitioner in your life.
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| "Alphabet, lunar sentence I" by Leandro Katz, 1979 |
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| "Paralengua" by Fabio Doctorovich, 1995 |
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"124" by Juan Carlos Romero, 1997
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| "Xamine Todo Retene le Bõ" by Xul Solar, 1962 |
